Improved production of stem cells is vital if they are to achieve their promise for medical research and disease treatments like transplantation, creating patient-specific cell-replacement therapies to treat neurological diseases, heart ailments, blood diseases and diabetes.

Record student recruitment and retention gains have vaulted UAB enrollment from a previous high of 18,698 in 2014 to 19,535, with key increases mirroring targeted initiatives to attract and retain freshmen, Honors College, Blazing Start, international and transfer students, and officials say it is just the beginning.

Kevin Spencer, a world-renowned illusionist, is a leading authority on the therapeutic use of magic tricks in special education and rehabilitation. His free Alys Stephens Center show is also a sensory-friendly performance.

Computing challenges are found across the UAB campus, from physics and neurology to genetics and the microbiome. Alabama’s most advanced supercomputer is now at UAB, making it possible to solve these challenges.

After major investments in information technology infrastructure — bringing the fastest supercomputer in Alabama to campus — UAB can now execute tasks in a couple of hours that took an entire day just a year ago.

The UAB School of Nursing has received more than $5.15 million in external funding for the 2016-17 academic year to help support students in its nationally ranked graduate programs who are preparing for careers as advanced practice nurses, nurse educators and nurse researchers.